Blood
by Batdz Angel
Summary: Five years after Hurt, Veronica Mars finds herself questioning the path her life has taken. Her friends are scattered and the one man she has always depended on besides her father has left her life.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Veronica Mars _or any of the characters created for the show. I just play with them; I also don't own any of the characters from _The Fast and the Furious _'cause if I did I'd sure as hell want to keep Dominic Torreto around! No harm intended, no infringement meant, and if you sue me all you'll get is an ornery 14 year old cat and an old, old copy of The Outsiders.I do own any/and all original characters in this fic. Oh, and the titles of this fic and the chapters are the lyrics to Chris Cornell's song "You Know My Name" from the _Casino Royale _soundtrack. Daniel Craig should always, always be Bond. The man is chocolate in human form!**  
Pairing/Character:** Veronica, Weevil, and some WeeVer (duh) as well as certain characters from a certain film. Also, as a warning, there is a character death but it is not described just mentioned in passing.  
**Rating:** R for language, some sexual content, and racial slurs.  
**Summary: **_Five years after _Hurt, _Veronica Mars finds herself questioning the path her life has taken. Her friends are scattered and the one man she has always depended on besides her father has left her life. She has no one to blame but herself for the latter and she hopes to fix it somehow. But how do you save someone who doesn't want to be saved?_  
**Spoilers: **Technically, if you haven't read my story _Hurt_, nothing for the actual series after _Ain't No Magic Mountain_. If you haven't seen the film that I'm crossing the VM-verse with then you're in for a lot of confusion, although I'll do my best to sum the film up as well as the history behind my original character(s).  
**Author's Note:** The Muse reeled me back in and while I was on Spring Break! So in between studying for finals in May (call me an overachiever) and other things, I opted to write a sequel to _Hurt_ by combining that 'verse with another fic idea. Here's the result and I hope it doesn't disappoint!

--

_Chapter One: Seen Angels Fall__From Blinding Heights_

The rumble of an engine made her start, causing her to drop her cup. Coffee splattered on the tile floor and she swore as she checked her shoes. Not seeing a single stain, she sighed and pressed her hand against her temple, massaging her brow. Shaking her head, she bent down and picked up the empty cup, tossing it into the trash can.

Crossing the office floor, she dropped down into her chair and stared at the open window across from the desk. Picking up one of the photos on her desk, she stared at the face looking up at her and sighed again.

In the photograph, she stood with a huge smile on her face, arms wrapped loosely around his waist. Her companion was also smiling, bald head gleaming in the sun as he held his graduation cap in one hand. They looked happy, content...

"Where did it go wrong?" She wondered aloud to herself as she put the picture back down onto the desk. She studied the other photographs on her desk, the faces of people she hadn't spoken to in years and murmured, "It's always the same Veronica. You push everyone away..."

Five years, she realized as she crossed entered her father's old office. Five years since Thumper had been killed, and Logan had been acquitted of all charges. Weevil had been absent from the trial due to his bronchitis, but Veronica had seen Logan receive a phone call afterwards. The look on her ex-boyfriend's face had told her enough about who was calling.

The year after Thumper's death and Felix's murder, Weevil had enrolled in Neptune Community College and had begun his plan to further his education. Veronica had been so proud of him, so pleased that he was doing what he wanted to do.

Then, Letty Navarro had passed away.

It had been sudden and unexpected; she had fallen asleep one night and had just not woken up the next morning. Weevil had been grieving deeply, his loss making him sullen and moody. Veronica had known he needed time but before she knew it a month had passed and he was gone.

Vanished from college.

Vanished from Neptune.

Just gone.

She'd convinced herself that he was fine; that he would call if he needed her. But when she had graduated from university and looked out across the crowd, searching for that _one_ familiar face and he hadn't been there, something inside of her had died. After her graduation luncheon with Wallace and Mac, she had asked if anyone had spoken or seen Weevil in the last few days.

"_What are you talking about?" Wallace had asked. "Didn't he tell you?"_

"_Tell me what?" she had said, dread filling her._

"_Veronica, Weevil moved!" Wallace had exclaimed, looking at her with confusion. "He went to live with his cousin in Los Angeles; I thought you knew."_

She hadn't known; she hadn't known and it had made her angry. She had convinced herself that he hadn't told her because he hadn't cared but as time went on, it was obvious it had been her fault. Weevil hadn't asked for her help because she hadn't been there to offer it. She had been busy with college, with work, and with life in general.

She frowned as she mused over the last five years. Wallace had been sympathetic but he had never offered her any information about Weevil or how he was doing. Then again, she had never asked and now she wondered if it would all be different if she had.

Would she have been different if Weevil had been there for her to lean on after Keith's death? Would she have been able to grieve properly if she hadn't been left alone?

Guilt filled her as she thought of her anger at her dad; even two years later, she was still angry with Keith for leaving after a bail jumper without telling her. A car accident had claimed her father's life and she had been left completely, utterly alone. For months after his accident she had poured over everything on record and when no conspiracy theories had popped up, she had been swimming in a sea of pain and guilt.

Guilt that she hadn't thought about the fact that her father's death was simply an accident. Simply a matter of slick roads and thick rain.

She had thrown herself into her work, catching felon after felon. Hiring bounty hunters to do the hard work for her and throwing herself at any man that would come along. She had wanted to forget the pain of her father's demise, the pain of his funeral and knowing that the one man she had counted on being there for her besides her own flesh and blood wasn't.

And then she had made the mistake of sleeping with Logan Echolls.

It had been a dumb, drunken mistake; she had had too much to drink one evening at a bar and when she had woken up the next morning, she had been in Logan's apartment, completely naked. When Logan came back into the room, she had been pulling on her clothes and cursing herself for losing control.

They had fought, loudly and hatefully. The last few years had made Logan increasingly bitter and his inability to accept that Veronica didn't love him in the way he wanted had made it difficult to talk with him. Finally, she had just stated that the night had been a mistake and that it wasn't happening again.

"_Sure," Logan had sneered. "And who do you think is going to give it to you, Ronnie? Your precious Eli?"_

She had slapped him then, hard enough to leave a mark. After storming out of the apartment, Veronica hadn't seen Logan again and she hadn't wanted too. Time and circumstances had made him into a man she didn't know or recognize. His bitterness over their failed relationship, over the unfairness of life in Neptune had made him angry with everyone, and Veronica knew she wouldn't make it better.

She and Logan tended to bring out the worst in each other.

Veronica stared at the computer screen for a few minutes before taking a deep breath. "You know what they say," she murmured as she began to type in a web address. "When a door closes, pry open a window..."

Softly, she could hear her father grin and say, _"That's my girl."_

--

The music pounded out of the speakers as the 1996 Honda Civic EX zoomed down the highway. The setting sunlight offered a pale golden glow to the white car as the driver pressed down on the gas and shifted gears. With a squeal of the tires, the car sped down the highway, turning onto a residential street, and pulled into the driveway of a two-story house. The hands gripping the steering wheel tightened slightly before relaxing as the driver turned the engine off and stepped out of the car.

The house was blazing with lights and the figure smirked before walking up the path to the front door. Not bothering to knock, the figure entered and called out, "Hey! Anybody home?"

"I'm coming down!" a female voice called back and with a shrug, the figure tossed a leather jacket onto the couch and entered the kitchen. A quick search of the fridge and a Coke was found along with some cold potato salad.

The padding of bare feet on hardwood had the figure turning. "God, Eli," the woman said sounding irritated. "You can't eat off a plate like normal people?"

Eli Navarro grinned at his cousin-in-law, Sarah Torreto, and said, "C'mon now, cuz. You know I got my way of doing things."

"Pig," came the playful reply. "At least let me fix you something healthy."

Eli shrugged. "Knock yourself out."

Sarah rolled her eyes and shoved him towards the table as she began to rummage around the kitchen. As she worked, she said, "Dom should be home soon. I don't know about the others."

"Everything okay?" Eli asked his ears perking up at the sound of unspoken worry in her voice. Sarah shrugged, offering him a sad smile over her shoulder as she chopped up some carrots. "Oh," she said. "You know how it is around here. Everyone's all intense and dramatic and just...volatile."

Eli did know; he had lived with his cousin for two years before moving out. After leaving Neptune behind, he had taken classes at a very exclusive art college on a full scholarship. Dom had taken him in without any hesitation and he had been plunged into a world that wasn't that dissimilar from the one he had left behind.

Except this one dealt with fast cars instead of motorcycles and blondes.

He inwardly winced at his sudden memory; at least it had taken him more than a day to think about Veronica. When he had left Neptune, he had also left her behind. She'd vanished after his grandmother had died and he had been too full of grief to bother with contacting her. Then again, she was supposed to be there without his asking. He had thought she had known that much about him...

Asking for help wasn't an easy thing for someone like him.

He watched his cousin's wife putter around the kitchen, the glow from her pregnancy making her skin seem like fine china. Her thick ebony hair was cut into a razored, choppy bob, the layers framing her cheekbones and dark brown eyes. Her glasses were perched lightly on her nose and her full mouth was busy moving as she talked to him about random subjects.

She had on a pair of baggy gray sweats, a large black t-shirt that he suspected belonged to his cousin as it hung to almost her knees, and bare feet. Her toes, he noted absently, were painted hot pink and flexed against the tile floor. She moved around the kitchen easily, despite the fact she was close to seven months pregnant; her body seemed to be taking the pregnancy in stride.

The sound of an engine had him glancing over his shoulder and Sarah pausing in her talking, the plate of steamed carrots, peas, two pieces of french bread, and leftover meatloaf stopping in midair. The sound of voices arguing had her frowning and Eli grimacing as he turned back to his plate, taking it from her with a nod of thanks.

As the front door opened, a deep voice snapped irritably, "I'm tellin' you, no!"

"Why the hell not?" an angry female voice demanded.

"Because," the man continued as his footsteps moved through the front of the house. "I said no and I mean no, Letty. Drop it, all right?"

"Damn it Dom-"

"I said, drop it."

The deadly calm interruption made silence fall for a few seconds. Then a curse was uttered and the rapid footfalls followed by a door slamming signaled the end of the argument. Eli didn't turn around as the footsteps got closer, Sarah sitting down across from him with a cup of tea in her hands. She looked up as her husband came in and Eli watched as a smile blossomed over her face, making her look years younger than thirty.

"Hey," she said softly as his cousin, Dominic Torreto, kissed her softly. The big man sighed and said, "Hey..." as he placed a large hand on her stomach. He turned his head slightly and said, "Eli."

Eli nodded back at him. "Dom." He arched a brow at him and said, "Letty bitchin' again?"

"When isn't she bitchin'?" came the retort. "Damn woman thinks the world's a fuckin' game. I'm too old for that shit, man."

"Still the best driver out there," Eli pointed out.

"Maybe so," Dom allowed as he fixed himself a plate. "But I'm busy with moving on. You can't go back to the past. Why try?"

Eli didn't answer; instead he busied himself with eating. Sometimes, his cousin would ask questions that made his skin itch. He knew Dom didn't mean to get under his skin but then again Dom didn't really know the whole reason as to why he had left Neptune in the first place.

No one really did except Sarah. His cousin's wife had come upon him one night when he had been feeling incredibly depressed and sorry for himself. A few Coronas and he had spilled out the whole tale from Lilly to Veronica to Felix to his grandmother's death. She had smiled, cradling him to her like a child, and murmured that he needed to either move on or go back to Veronica.

He couldn't do either yet. His heart didn't know how to let go of the fiery blonde and his pride didn't find the idea of returning to the town he grew up in that appealing either.

Finishing up his plate, he downed the last of his Coke and said to Sarah, "Damn, that was great. I swear, Dom, you need to give this girl more love for all that good food she be makin' you."

"She gets enough," Dom retorted and Sarah rolled her eyes as she smacked him lightly on his bald head as she got up from her seat. In retaliation, Dom pulled her forward and kissed her soundly on the mouth, a smile curving his lips as he murmured to her in Spanish.

Sarah smiled back at him, her eyes warming as she rose to her feet. Bracing her back with one of her hands, she padded out of the kitchen without another word. The two bald men sat together in comfortable silence and Dom broke it by asking, "You going with Letty and the others tonight?"

Eli shrugged. "Dunno," he said. "Figured I'd stay in one night; I'm not driving tonight anyway so why bother leaving the house?"

Dom grunted and Eli watched as he finished up his meal. Rising to his full height, he took his empty plate and glass to the sink. At six foot two, Dominic was an imposing figure; his broad shoulders and muscular physique as well as his natural magnetism made it difficult for people to resist him. Eli had watched his cousin interact with people and was always amazed at how easily most would fall under his spell.

While they didn't resemble each other very much physically, Dom and Eli both shared the same dark chocolate orbs that the majority of the Navarro and Torreto family members had. Despite being related by marriage, the genes of their grandfathers were strong and unmistakable.

"What's up then Eli?" Dom asked interrupting his musing. "You look like your best friend died."

Eli forced a smirk. "Nothin' cuz," he said as he rose to his feet. "Just thinkin'."

"Don't think to much," Dom advised him. "Tends to make your head hurt. Then your heart."

Eli snapped his head up to look at Dom who looked back at him steadily. They watched each other for a minute before Dom said, "Pick a movie, would you? Something that Sarah will watch; she needs to stay off her feet."

Eli nodded and rose to his feet, wandering into the living room. Browsing through the massive movie collection his cousin and wife owned, he picked out two films and set them on the coffee table. As he opened up one of the cases, his cell phone rang and he fished it out of his jean pocket. Flipping it open without glancing at the screen, Eli said, "Hello?" as he set the film into the DVD player.

"Weevil?" a familiar voice said.

Ice settled over his heart.

"What do you want Hector?" he asked in a low voice, glancing over his shoulder towards the stairs. His cousins hadn't come down yet but his muscles tensed up anyway; hearing from anyone that had a connection to Neptune was a bad thing.

Hector coughed.

"Weevil," his former friend and bike mate said, the desperate tone catching his attention. "I need your help."

Just when life seemed to be too boring, something happens to twist it up.

_Next, Chapter Two: Seen This Diamond Cut Through Harder Men..._


End file.
